Should I help make fullerenes if people are going to eat them?
The ethics of getting involved in products with unproven claims
In November 2018 three companies contacted me for advice about how to build apparatus to make pure fullerenes. These companies are part of a growing number around the world who dissolve C60 in olive oil and sell it for people to ingest.
Some incredible health claims have been made by such companies. These suggest C60 can improve longevity, protect against free radicals, prevent inflammation, kill bacteria and viruses, protect nerves and prevent osteoarthritis. After the initial emails, I decided to arranged Skype sessions with two of the companies to discuss things in more detail. What follows is a short account of the ethical issues I have been weighing up in my mind to decide how much I should get involved in this area.